The present invention relates generally to transponders and, more particularly, to transponders configured to provide an information buffer between a vehicle""s communication system and a remote radio frequency communication system, such as that found associated with fuel dispensers in a fueling environment.
In recent years, traditional gasoline pumps and service stations have evolved into elaborate point-of-sale (POS) devices having sophisticated control electronics and user interfaces with large displays and touch-pads or screens. The dispensers include various types of payment means, such as card readers and cash acceptors, to expedite and further enhance fueling transactions. A customer is not limited to the purchase of fuel at the dispenser. More recent dispensers allow the customer to purchase services, such as car washes, and goods, such as fast food or convenience store products at the dispenser. Once purchased, the customer need only pick up the goods and services at the station store or the outlet of a vending machine.
Remote transaction systems have evolved wherein the fuel dispenser is adapted to communicate with various types of remote communication devices, such as transponders, to provide various types of identification and information to the fuel dispenser automatically. Given the sophistication of these transaction systems and the numerous choices provided to the customer at the dispenser, conducting transactions with transponders will be useful to allow the dispenser and fuel station store to monitor the movement of a person carrying a transponder and a vehicle having a transponder, enhance transaction and marketing efficiencies, and improve safety in the fueling environment.
Currently, transponder applications in a fueling environment have been limited to the extent that a fuel dispenser is configured to retrieve a customer ID from an interrogator transponder, send that ID to remote host computer to be associated with the customer""s debit/credit account and charge the fueling transaction to the accessed account. Many transponders have local user memory areas for use as a scratch pad in future applications. This scratch pad memory area provides the unique ability for the transponder to store various types of information, provide fleet fueling information, loyalty points, and car wash or other access codes. For additional information, see U.S. application Ser. No. 60/060,066 filed Sep. 26, 1997, entitled Comprehensive Intelligent Fueling; Ser. No. 09/024,742 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing System Providing Customer Preferences; Ser. No. 09/024,499 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing System Preventing Customer Drive-Off; Ser. No. 09/024,493 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing And Retail System For Providing Loyalty And Customer Benefits; Ser. No. 09/024,275 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing And Retail System For Preventing Use Of Stolen Transponders; Ser. No. 09/024,549 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Providing Transaction Estimates In A Fueling And Retail System; Ser. No. 09/024,491 filed Feb. 17, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing And Retail System Providing A Transaction Discount For Transponder Use; Ser. No. 09,034,969 filed Mar. 4, 1998, entitled Multistage Ordering System For A Fueling And Retail Environment; Ser. No. 09/035,158 filed Mar. 5, 1998, entitled Fuel Dispensing And Retail System Providing For Transponder Prepayment; and Ser. No. 09/037,489 filed Mar. 10, 1998, entitled Antenna Placement In A Fueling And Retail System, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
While the petroleum industry is working to provide remote communications to customers and their vehicles, there is an increasing effort by automotive manufacturers to provide on-board computer systems for electronic control and diagnostics. Since computers are becoming cheaper and increasingly able to handle a variety of tasks in a short amount of time, it is inevitable that a computer on board an automobile will eventually provide an interface with the occupants of the automobile just as a personal computer at a home or business provides. With the increasing amount of data network services, computers are able to remotely access information, rather than store the information locally. The difficulty arises in determining how an automobile with an on-board computer system can obtain access to the outside world for data network services or other services without a physical connection to the automobile in a cost-effective and widely compatible manner.
The present invention provides a solution by transferring information between an automobile and a remote communication system via a transponder capable of communicating with the remote communication system, as well as a vehicle control system. Preferably, the remote communication is a fuel dispenser or is associated with a fueling and restaurant environment, which is in turn in communication with remote or local data network services. The transponder is configured to be mounted on the vehicle and communicate with the vehicle control system electronically or via radio frequency communications. The transponder is preferably directly linked to the on-board computer system in the vehicle and configured to act as a peripheral. The term xe2x80x9ctransponderxe2x80x9d is used to define any type of remote communication device providing bidirectional radio communications and should not be limited to classic transponders that modify received signals to generate signals for transmission.
Whenever an automobile pulls up to the fuel dispenser, the transponder is awakened when interrogated by an interrogation device associated with the fuel dispenser. The transponder will recognize that a fuel dispenser is requesting information, such as the customer ID or account information. The transponder may send a signal or interrupt to the on-board vehicle control system indicating that a fuel dispenser is requesting the customer ID or information, and the vehicle control system may then signal back to the transponder giving it directions to either respond or not respond. The vehicle control system could even signal the occupants of the automobile for instructions as to whether the fuel transaction authorization should be initiated. Alternatively, certain basic information, which may include the customer or transponder ID, may be stored on the transponder and immediately sent back to the dispenser upon interrogation in order to establish communications and expedite transaction authorization.
In addition to the fueling process, the vehicle control system may signal the transponder to send requests for information to the fuel dispenser. For instance, if the on-board vehicle control system would like to request that the fuel dispenser download e-mail, the control system will signal the transponder to make that request to the fuel dispenser. The fuel dispenser may send a request on to the site computer which in turn will know whether it is capable of providing such a request. If such a request is possible, the fuel dispenser could signal the transponder, which would in turn signal the computer as necessary to communicate the downloaded e-mail.
The vehicle may have the ability to link a remote computer or lap-top computer to the transponder without going through an on-board computer or going through the vehicle control system.
The fuel dispenser preferably has the ability to provide network data services or other information directly to the vehicle control system via the transponder. The vehicle control system could be a computer hardware system with a microprocessor, memory, peripheral control and interfacing, and an operating system. The operating system may range from being very simple to a more complex Windows(copyright)-based system. The software may be embedded into the vehicle control system or may be loadable as on a personal computer, directly or through the transponder. An example of a complex software system would be Microsoft(copyright) Windows CE operating system.
In operation, the vehicle control system may be in complete control of all peripherals connected to it. A transponder could be connected as a peripheral to the on-board computer""s microprocessor or connected to a communication""s bus, to which all other peripherals are connected. In either event, the transponder could achieve communication with the vehicle control system through interrupts and serial communications to provide direct memory access.
Preferably, the fuel dispenser includes an interrogation device capable of querying for the presence of the transponder, transmitting information to the transponder and receiving information from the transponder. The information may be transmitted to or from a central site controller which may have access to card authorization host computers, data network services, such as Microsoft Network, America On-Line, and other network service providers to the Internet or proprietary networks.
In particular, the transponder is preferably a memory buffer facilitating information or message transfer between a remote communication system, such as a fuel dispenser and the vehicle control system. Information written to the transponder memory from the fuel dispenser may be sent to or retrieved by the vehicle control system. Information sent to the transponder from the vehicle control system is made accessible by or transmitted to the fuel dispenser. The transponder includes sufficient communication electronics, memory access and communication control circuitry, and memory to allow storing of information and access to information by both the vehicle control system and the fuel dispenser.
Preferably, the memory access control circuitry is configured to establish communications with the dispenser, at least initially, without interacting with the vehicle control system. Once communications are established, the vehicle control system will write information or messages to the transponder memory, and the dispenser will access those messages and respond accordingly. Similarly, the dispenser will write messages to the transponder memory for access by the vehicle control system. In other words, the transponder provides a memory buffer accessible by both the vehicle control system and the remote communication system to facilitate communications between the two.